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Watandost in Urdu, Turkish and Farsi means "friend of the nation or country". The blog contains news and views about Pakistan and broader South West Asia that are insightful but are often not part of the headlines. It also covers major debates in Muslim societies across the world.

ISLAMABAD: Investigators have not found any concrete evidence so far of involvement of Lashkar-e-Tayyaba in the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore last week and see the evidence of a ‘foreign hand’ behind the incident, Interior Adviser Rehman Malik told the National Assembly Standing Committee on Interior on Monday.

The committee discussed law and order across the country, the Lahore terrorist attack and efforts for the release of abducted United Nations official John Solecki.

Rehman Malik said the investigation into the Lahore attack was moving in a positive direction and the leads gathered so far provide sufficient evidence of involvement of a foreign hand in the terrorist attack.

India was using Afghanistan’s soil against Pakistan, he told the committee.

The committee expressed displeasure over the security arrangements made for the visiting team and termed the incident a security lapse. The committee members said the government should have provided extra security to the guests because there were intelligence reports of a possible attack.

The interior adviser admitted that the police were not fully capable of dealing with the terrorist strikes because the terrorists were equipped with modern weapons and technology.

Malik told the NA committee the government was making serious efforts for the release of Solecki, who had been abducted by “anti-Pakistan elements”.

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